


roommates with a ghost

by sleepyakaashi



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-12 23:59:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3360164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepyakaashi/pseuds/sleepyakaashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagachika Hideyoshi did not expect to have to share his new dorm room with someone else. Especially not with a ghost. However, it's not something he's entirely opposed to...</p><p>feat. college student!hide and ghost!kaneki</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. something missing

**Author's Note:**

> i loved my hidekanesecretadmirer prompt so much i made it into a multi-chapter fic
> 
> mostly planned out, and i've even aleady typed up the first few chapters! will try to update when i can.

Nagachika Hideyoshi was always the kind of person everyone wanted to be friends with, even all of the way through high school. What with his cheerful, sunny disposition, it wasn’t hard to see why. Well-liked by many and disliked by none at all, he coasted his way through his primary and secondary education popular and never had the opportunity to be left behind.

Yet, no matter how many friends he had the boy always felt as if there was something missing. He didn’t know what it was, and didn’t know _why_ he felt that way- it was really hard to describe- and so he would always shrug it off. Not exactly something that had been lost; more of something that had yet to be _gained._

On first day of his third month of his second year at Kamii Uni, Hide wonders if this will be the year he finds it, whatever it is that is _missing_.

Sitting in his second lecture of the day, his pen makes a _tap tap tap_ noise of plastic on wood as he absentmindedly beats out a rhythm to his thoughts.

He really can’t be bothered to listen to a lecture this early in the morning, especially not when it’s Asian History. Granted, the class would be more bearable if he had a friend to give him company.

Sadly, his class is full of young adults entirely too serious about the subject for him to willingly acquaint with. There is an empty seat beside him; however the student is yet to appear for a single class.

Hide has a feeling that that seat’s occupant isn’t going to be coming for a _long_ time.

Call it a gut feeling.

The rest of his day goes by fairly well, save for a class where he somehow manages to fall asleep in the midst of (in his excuse, it _was_ right after lunch).

Even then, he’s glad to make it home and flings himself onto his bed as soon as he walks in, tossing his horrendous school bag off to one side.

Hide sighs, and then _shivers_ because his bed is rather unnaturally cold.

His new room always feels colder than it should be. Despite checking for any crevices where cold drafts could make their way in, and finding nothing, there always seemed to be a slight chill in the air.

Hide resolves to have the heating system checked tomorrow, and gets up off of the bed to go on with his day.

For the first year of his college education, he stayed in a dorm ten minutes down the street, sharing a room with three other people. It was hectic and it was messy, and Hide was more than overjoyed to hear of a single room being vacant in a building closer to the campus.

Lucky for him, he'd been on the waiting list for that dorm for well over a year. It was unheard of, such an ideal spell arising two months into the school year.

At first he was suspicious of the room perhaps being abandoned due to intolerable impairments which made it unlivable. But, after thoroughly examining each and every inch of it, he saw no reason to further decline. Since then, he’s been living there for around a month.

It isn’t like the room is particularly special or anything- if at all; it is rather stark and average in every aspect. A flat rectangular shape; with a dresser, a bookshelf, desk and chair, and a bed off to one side. A tiny kitchenette breaks off from the room, as does a separate bathroom (which is like an uncalled blessing for Hide, after sharing a bathroom with three other individuals, all of whom had passed puberty at that point.)

Hide doesn’t read books much- he prefers to read manga, childish as he is considered- and the bookshelf isn’t his. The room’s previous tenant had left it behind; the shelves replete with various novels Hide has heard the titles of in Literature quite often, and is yet to contact him on it.

The forgotten bookshelf isn’t the only thing odd about the place. Aside from the ever present chill in the air, for some reason, all of the lights in the dorm burn noticeably dimly.

The lights, instead of being a bright white, blinding color as they should be, are all a rather dull yellow color, as if he’s to entertain a romantic evening with a potential love interest.

It’s not a problem with the bulbs, as he’s tried changing those, and it’s not a problem with the electricity either as no one else in his building seems to be facing the same issue.

It’s possible that these are not very odd things, and it’s even more possible that pointing them out makes them seem odder than they are.

Now, Hide is a very rational person in his own sense. He’s deceivingly smart, and has the observational skills of a first rate detective. He’s one of the sanest people you will ever meet.

Hide is also a supernatural enthusiast.

Perhaps rationality and an affinity towards the celestial side of things don’t really belong together- but with Hide they do.

Coupling together the impractical cold drafts, the gloomy lighting, a natural instinct that’s yet to prove him wrong, and a thorough examination of this situation, along with years of interested research into said subject, Hide makes a conclusion that a ghost is haunting his room.

It sounds much more credible in his mind, and fortunately that’s where the theory stays. He doesn’t mention his ghost-buster alike thoughts to anyone.

This theory is only further cemented into his mind when the electrician informs him the next day that, no, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the heating system.

There are other, minute things that steer him in this direction, too.

About a week after he had moved in a friend of his had come over and had brought along with him his pet beagle, which had refused to take even a single step into the dorm.

Another thing- this room is on the second floor and has large windows facing the street which Hide always keeps open. (The boy enjoys sunshine, appropriately.) No matter what, dust should make its way into the room, and it does- it coats everything from the floor to the very curtains of the windows. Everything except for the bookshelf, that is.

Without fail, the bookshelf is wiped clean every single day when Hide comes back home. Not even wiped clean- it’s as if something is preventing dust from settling onto the shelf in the first place.

Hide has gone through the books on the shelf; but found nothing out of the ordinary. They were just ordinary, well-worn books.

What ties all of his suspicions together, would be the unsettling feeling of someone watching him at very specific times. It’s not something he can shake off, and it is something he is sure of. Hide would be doing his homework, or making dinner when suddenly he would very surely feel a concentrated gaze fall on him. But when he looked around, there would be nothing.

It unsettles him greatly, and is part of the reason why he’s so intent on getting to the bottom of this.

The ghost, (hypothetically, there _is_ a ghost) has been relatively passive thus far and hasn’t caused any actual harm (aside from the dim lights. Hide can live with that); leading Hide to believe that this ghost is harmless. If anything, it’s _helpful_ , what with the constant sweeping of the bookshelf. (Now if only it would sweep the entire _room_ …)

Maybe he can play the mediator to this ghost, who knows.

Hide is no idiot, as one might come to think, and for safety reasons keeps a small pouch of salt hidden on his persona at all times. Just because the ghost seems like a nice one doesn’t necessarily mean it is.

Trying to get this ghost to show itself is harder than he expected, however. He tries everything he can think of to send a signal in the least suggestive manner possible, such as watching ghost movies and listening to songs like ‘Thriller’ on his stereo but it’s all to no avail. Either the ghost is not very smart, or altogether _very_ smart.

Hide decides to pursue further research, and checks out a couple of books from the local library. Along with books on communicating with the dead, he ends up checking out a few that he was prescribed to read in his Literature class.

When he finally makes a breakthrough, it’s entirely unintentional.

It’s a normal Friday afternoon when Hide cracks open one of the books that had been suggested in Lit. Class and begins reading.

He’s never particularly liked reading books- it’s always a bit too slow and tedious for his taste. Thankfully this novel is a short story, so it’s not that tiresome to read.

He’s around twenty pages into the book, when something very _odd_ happens.

_There is someone standing behind him._

Hide can feel the soft inhale and exhale of another person lightly ghost over the junction between his neck and shoulder, as they read the book peering over the latter.

Hide at once knows that this is what he’s been waiting for, but he freezes unintentionally for a split second because he hadn’t quite expected it to happen like this. Immediately he feels the presence behind him dissipate. The supernatural enthusiast shouts out of irritation; slamming the book shut and slumping onto the desk, forehead against cool wood while he beats his fist down on it in frustration.

 _‘Next time,’_ Hide vows to himself. _‘Next time, it’ll happen.’_

\---

The good that’s come out of this is that he’s figured out the cheese to his mouse. His spectral roommate is an avid reader- which explains the constant dusting of the books.

Hide doesn’t try it again immediately because he knows that would seem suspicious. He's pretty sure the ghost isn't really aware that he knows of its existence and beyond that, the ghost seems rather shy to be frank. Hide doesn't want to scare the ghost away.

Thus he waits two entire days before he settles back into his desk chair and nonchalantly brings out the same short story from before.

 _‘I’m just a normal college boy, reading a normal college book. Not trying to trick any ghosts in revealing themselves, or anything!’_ Hide thinks to himself, humming a tune out loud as his fingers tap it onto the desk.

Time passes, and Hide begins to think the ghost is not going to show up. He turns more and more pages and all to no end but it’s just as he's thinking this that he feels that peculiar sensation of someone peering over his shoulder.

Hide wastes no time this time. At once, he turns around and accuses the space behind him of existing with a pointed finger and a loud exclamation of “Aha!”

Which effectively startles the person-no, the boy behind him into stumbling back and clumsily falling onto his rump, elbows hitting the ground first to balance him as all of the light fixtures in the room blow their fuse and burst simultaneously.

 _‘It happened.’_ Hide thinks to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i just hope this was readable //flops to the side


	2. what's there to live for?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kaneki_is_a_gHOST.png

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //flails around in new writing style// how do you work this thing

Kaneki Ken doesn’t remember dying. All he does remember is waking up in his bed one morning, just like any other day- except that no one else could see him.

And he couldn’t leave his dorm room.

The majority of his things had been taken, leaving the room bare except for his bookshelf and the bed. Kaneki assumes the room’s been cleared for use of the next occupant.

He guesses that he died in his sleep, or something similar because the last time he remembered being alive was going to bed one night, after thumbing through a novel or two.

Kaneki can’t even specify what  _day_  that had been, it’s a very vague memory stuck somewhere in the recessives of his mind and feels more like a dream than reality.

He does, however, know the day he woke up a ghost- a week into the first month of school. Luckily for him, he’d –always kept a calendar stuck on the wall next to his bed, and he made sure to mentally mark off each day as it passed.

Unluckily for him, when the month ended, he couldn’t turn it onto the next month because his fingers kept going straight through the calendar.

Kaneki can’t touch anything. Well not exactly. He can touch things- only not move them. The ghost can lean on walls, sit on chairs, and walk upon the wooden floors; he just can’t touch anything substantial and move it.

Every time he tries to, he merely ends up passing completely through whatever it was he was trying to touch.

For some reason, however, he can keep his bookshelf from getting dusty. The window is always left open, and when dust flows in and is about to settle, Kaneki can feel it, interestingly enough. He focuses on that feeling, and the dust just floats away, leaving the shelf clean. It doesn't seem to work with anything else, though.

Aside from that, he can’t displace anything.

Consequently, he can’t eat or drink anything- not that he thinks he needs to; as he is already dead.

He can’t touch anything, can’t drink, eat, or smell anything-he can’t even feel things. He can feel the  _weight_  of things, like when he rests his arm on a table or lays quietly on his bed; he just can’t feel the actual  _texture_  of anything, like the woody terrain of a table or the soft threads of his pillow, leaving him senseless save for his sight and hearing.

The final call on his definite imprisonment would be his inability to leave the room. Four walls, a tiny kitchen, and a bathroom are the extent of his mobility.

Kaneki reasons that his life essence (or whatever causes ghosts to haunt certain places) must be tied down to the dorm room because he can’t make it even halfway down the first flight of stairs before a nauseating feeling so intense he can’t move hits him. The few times he’s tried to venture out he comes back feeling as if his stomach has tried to vomit itself out. It is enough to keep him from attempting anything further. (His organs are happy enough staying inside where they belong, thank you very much.)

But, it’s not like the ghost truly minds. There’s not much he would do outside, anyways. If anything, dying is probably the most memorable thing he’s done in his lifetime, aside from making it into Kamii University. Kaneki had always been just a normal college student who liked to read books, like you could find anywhere.

Maybe a few people miss him, but they’ll all eventually forget as time passes. He doesn’t have any family (or anyone that he actually considers as family) and he is dismissible to any friends he had had in school.

The majority of his life consisted of its generic phases, and reading books. Aside from both, Kaneki doesn’t really have anything to live for.

The ones who are most affected by his death are probably his co-workers from that little coffee shop that he used to part time at. Kaneki does feel bad about that-they’d have to find and train someone entirely new for his position. But, it isn't like he could do anything about it- dying isn't something he could really help, is it.

Days pass, weeks pass,  _months_  pass- but it’s hard to say for sure, because time is really easy to lose track of when you’re a ghost with no company.

As a result of, Kaneki Ken has been alone for quite some time now. He was alone even before dying, but dying and haunting your old dorm takes it to a completely new level. It’s not like he’s particularly social, but still.

It’s rather lonely, Ken’s used to it.

Kaneki is stuck in his room, doing every rendition of nothing because he can’t touch anything, can’t go anywhere. He spends his days desperately wishing he could read a book, or that he could have at least chosen to haunt a library. (Being trapped in a place with enough books to last more than a lifetime, does it really seem like Kaneki would say no?)

That, and sleeping. The dark haired boy was initially surprised to find out that, yes, he could still fall asleep. After being awake for a certain period of time, he  starts feeling more and more tired and drained, until he ultimately falls asleep.

Sleeping when you were dead was really a new experience, however. It wasn’t the same as before- it was so much more intense. Kaneki can sleep for hours, even days on end and has absolutely no dreams or consciousness when doing so. He likens it to falling into a coma rather than simply falling asleep.

When he’s awake and idle, (which is at least half of the time), he spends his time thinking way more than what’s healthy about everything he can bring to mind. Analysing the plots of books he has read, comparing the various methods of brewing coffee, he even starts counting backwards from  1000 by 7 out of sheer boredom. The days go by very, very slowly. (He loses track of them anyways.)

Every once in a while, cleaning staff will enter the abandoned room and dust it half-heartedly. Since they can’t see him and his presence has absolutely no effect on them, Kaneki pays them little to no attention.

It’s a reassuringly bland and tasteless pattern that the ghost easily slips into…

…but breaks out of when he receives two unsuspecting visitors one day.

Kaneki’s lying on his back on the bed, and laxly gazing up at the ceiling, deliberating if the coffee shop’s manager has hired someone new yet when the door unexpectedly opens.

Two men walk in- the doom’s warden, whom Kaneki recognizes, and a young man, whom Kaneki doesn’t recognize.

He’s of average height, and has bleached blonde hair. A pair of bright orange headphones sit around his neck.

Kaneki sits up and observes them curiously as the two share a quick conversation before the boy with the headphones goes around the room, closely inspecting everything in it. When he approaches the bed, Kaneki stiffens up-and even though he knows the boy can’t see him-dissipates and reappears perched on top of the dresser.

(Further proof of his spectral status- he can disappear and reappear to anywhere in the room. It requires little to no thought and feels exactly like moving normally, but can’t be explained beyond that and either ways, Kaneki doesn’t quite understand how ghost physics really works. He supposes Newton’s Laws don’t apply as much anymore, at the very least. )

The boy with the headphones, of course, doesn’t notice a thing, and goes on with his inspection.

When he’s seemingly done with his assessment, he walks back over to the warden and Kaneki watches him enthusiastically give his consent to something.

After a few minutes, both of them walk out of the room and the door is closed shut behind them. It is silent once again.

It’s the most interesting thing that’s happened since he died, and based off of their actions, Kaneki presumes the boy with the bleached hair is going to be moving into his dorm.

He doesn’t really know how to feel if a blonde haired sunflower is going to barge into his place of haunting, and occupy it. He’s socially awkward. Not a single one of his friends ever referred to him by his first name. How is he expected to suddenly live together with a stranger? Then again, seeing as how the stranger wouldn’t even be aware of his existence, it would make things much easier. If anything, he would be the only one who ever felt any awkwardness.

And isn’t he a ghost? Is he supposed to get angry and torment any souls that enter his territory? Is he supposed to try and possess this new guy and get vengeance somehow?

Kaneki can’t imagine doing any of those things. Quite frankly, he just hopes he doesn’t end up falling asleep during the day and waking up in the middle of the night to find his roommate entertaining a…' _guest'_  mere inches away from him. College students did that, didn’t they?

But gaining a roommate isn’t something entirely unpredicted-someone was going to eventually move into the empty apartment, but now that it’s actually subject to happen, Kaneki doesn’t really know what to expect.

Sure enough, the ghost is startled out of his ponderous drape on the bed a few days later when the door suddenly bursts open.

A head of spiky blonde hair pokes in. “Alright! I’m in. The lock works fine, and all!” The boy says, into his cell phone. He proceeds to stroll in, dragging in with him a hefty looking bag that is nearly overflowing with various things. The zip is half open; a thick copy of ‘Shonen Jump’ preventing it from being closed properly.

Kaneki watches the boy with the same pair of ridiculously orange headphones still around his neck close the door and begin to unpack his things. The ghost doesn’t even bother getting up- but still resists the urge to politely greet his new roommate. It feels rude to just sit there and watch him unpack without offering any help, even though he doesn’t even know he exists.

This strange newcomer is every shade of cheerful-he has a smile on his face even though (as far as he knows) he’s the only one in the room. Bleached blonde hair with brown roots, chocolate brown eyes, of average height and build, the only thing particularly striking about him is his smile and sunny demeanour.

What kind of a person smiles when no one’s watching? The kind of person you don’t want to sit next to in class, that’s who. But, let’s be honest. A boy who listens to the Backstreet Boys with more enthusiasm than necessary-which becomes apparent moments later, when he starts to blast ‘I Want It That Way’ through portable speakers that he’s taken out of his bag-can’t really be all that bad.

Being the passive ghost that he is, Kaneki eventually realizes that he doesn’t necessarily mind the intrusion.

Nagachika Hideyoshi- Kaneki gets to know his name not too long after when he reads it scrawled across the cover of a textbook-is a college student, studying at Kamii University. Nagachika-kun’s in his second year-the same year Kaneki would be in, were he still alive.

Being roommates with someone isn’t all that hard, Kaneki finds out. Just like he’d suspected, it’s even easier when your roommate doesn’t know you exist.

A new routine is formed- the same one as before, except now Kaneki takes added care of when and where he falls asleep, generally doing so on his bed when Nagachika-kun’s at school. It’s not that different from how things used to be.

In fact, life (is that a pun, Kaneki wants to know) is actually more enjoyable now.

It’s not like Kaneki interacts with this newcomer. No, Kaneki just watches him from afar. Watches him flit around the room, not hesitating to break out into a sporadic dance movement when the music calls for it (the music is always on). Watches him sing aloud too, despite being more off key than not.

Kaneki watches him because he doesn’t really have anything else to do-but no, that’s a lame excuse. Kaneki watches him because he can’t deny that this singing and dancing blonde haired, brown eyed boy is pleasant to watch.

Pleasant to be around. (Even if the latter isn’t aware of his appreciative company.)

As far as boundaries go, Kaneki’s not really sure if any of them apply. He makes sure to stay out of the room (stand right outside of it, by the front door; what kind of a ghost are you, Kaneki) whenever Nagachika-kun is doing things like showering, or changing clothes. (The two are not always mutually exclusive.) By doing so, he’s managed to avoid any awkward situations so far.

The ghost feels disconnected from the entire situation-more like he’s watching television rather than playing a video game. But not exactly. Kaneki feels detached from everything, as if he doesn’t really exist. And does he really? Without a purpose, or aim he supposes he doesn’t truly. He uses this to justify his actions.

It’s okay.

Life is less boring now, too. Nagachika-kun brings with him a television that he actively uses- and by extension, Kaneki as well. (Even if what he watches consists mostly of English movies that Kaneki is sure he doesn’t understand, oddly enough the news, and TV specials.)

Nagachika Hideyoshi also very clearly loves music-evident by the ever present headphones-and appropriately is the kind of person who always has music on, Kaneki learns.

Sometimes it’s English music, sometimes it’s music without any words but Kaneki’s always been pretty indifferent towards music and he can’t categorize it all that well.

The days go on, and Kaneki is content to watch from afar, and never interfere with his new roommate’s being, keeping his presence comfortably unknown.

He doesn’t do anything at all to disturb or affect Nagachika-kun’s life, but even then, there are times that the blonde seems to be aware of something, Kaneki feels. It’s in the eager way that the boy glances around expectantly at times, especially when the ghost is curiously watching him do homework.

It unsettles him, greatly and so Kaneki tries to be extra careful from then on, which works fine and dandy until Nagachika Hideyoshi breaks open a book (Kaneki’s biggest weakness) one fine afternoon.

And ahh, it itches at Kaneki like an insect in his ear. He’s been quite literally dying to read a book since the day he died. There’s nothing he enjoys more in the world, and it’s been  _so long_  since he felt that thin slip of paper between his fingers, since he’s smelt that aged text smell.

Nagachika-kun turns a page and Kaneki’s left eye twitches. Just how many times has he tried to pick out a book from his bookshelf and read it, only for his fingers to heartbreakingly pass right through? He’d settle for anything, anything at the moment. And oh no, Nagachika-kun is reading “Monochrome Rainbow”, one of Ken’s absolute favourite books by Tatsuki Sen- his favourite author.

Before he even knows it, the temptation has proved too much and Kaneki’s moved closer and is reading over oblivious Nagachika-kun’s shoulder.

At first, it’s irritating to not be able to turn the page at his will-the ghost reads significantly faster than the other boy- but Kaneki eventually loses himself in the novel and lets his guard down.

But then, just after the first climax in the book, Nagachika-kun pauses very briefly. This momentary hesitation to turn the page is enough to jar Kaneki out of his unaware comfort, and he immediately disappears, reappearing right outside of the front door.

He stands there for a while, his heart beating fast in his chest. _‘Did he sense me?’_   Kaneki wonders, but pushes the thought away as he calms down and rationality sinks in.

Humans were always doing odd things; like talking aloud to themselves or pausing in the middle of books at random times. It was only when you were removed from them as a whole that you realized how often such things happened.

Kaneki hesitantly returns to the room, and brushes away the majority of his anxious thoughts when he sees Nagachika-kun chattering cheerfully on the phone with one of his classmates, entirely unaffected.

He sighs, relieved and cautiously settles on top of the bed. His roommate continues to converse on his cell and Kaneki finally relaxes completely. He had probably overreacted, true to his socially awkward nature.

Any remaining doubts he has are quelled by the following two days, during which absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happens. Nagachika-kun is so oblivious-even spending an entire evening lounging around in little more than boxers (Kaneki spent the entire time sitting outside in the hallway)- that Kaneki even feels a bit foolish for being so suspicious last time.

Hence, when Nagachika-kun brings out the book again on the third day, it doesn’t take much for Kaneki to inch forward and resume reading from over his shoulder; curiosity as to what happens next in the story overwhelming him.

It also doesn’t take much time before suddenly, Nagachika-kun is turning around shouting “Aha!” straight at his face, a finger pointed right at him.

In the very same second, Kaneki feels something like glass shatter through him, almost like he’s broken through something. All of the light fixtures in the room flash and then blow their fuses, for some reason, leaving the room to be illuminated only by the open window.

Startled, the dark haired boy lets out an alarmed cry, stumbles back and lands promptly on his rear end.

The two stare at each other for a brief moment- the blonde’s face a mix of wonder, astonishment, and satisfaction and Kaneki’s just plainly stunned.

Finally, Kaneki breaks the silence. “So you _did_ know I was there, last time!” he accuses, still shocked.

“Well yeah,” Nagachika-kun confirms unashamedly, scratching the back of his head. “I’ve kind of known for a while now.” He adds rather sheepishly.

“That there was a  _ghost_  haunting your room?!” Kaneki incredulously asks. He should probably be much more polite, shy, and reserved but maybe it’s because he’s unintentionally spent so much time in the past few weeks with this person, but Kaneki feels like he knows him pretty well. More than he does most people, that is.

The bleached blonde just unapologetically extends a hand after apologizing for startling him.

On pure instinct, Kaneki reaches out and accepts the hand offered to him without a second thought. Nagachika-kun’s grip is strong, and easily helps pull him up.

“It’s fine…” Kaneki says, getting up.

Something occurs to him and he flinches. “How can you see me?!” He asks, bewildered.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“No one else can see me, even when I’m like this. Or at least, no one has been able to so far.” Well, of the admittedly few that Kaneki has come across so far, none have been able to.

Nagachika-kun seems to think for a moment. “Hmmm….I dunno. Maybe I have better eyesight than other people, or the ability to see ghosts or something!”

“Maybe…” Kaneki considers this for a second. “But have you actually ever seen a ghost before?” he asks, sceptically.

“No,” Nagachika-kun good naturedly admits. “But never mind that,” He goes on to say, before the ghost becomes conscious of the fact that the college student is still holding his hand. _Holding_ his _hand_.

Kaneki blanches, and pulls his hand out of the other’s grasp, only to grab it himself with his other hand and stare down at his fingers in pure disbelief.

“I can touch you? How can I touch you!?” He asks himself, mostly.

Nagachika-kun is intrigued. “You can’t touch things?” He questions back.

Kaneki doesn’t answer, only walks past him and leans down to pick up “Monochrome Rainbow” off of the floor from where the blonde tossed it to in excitement.

The college student watches in amazement as Kaneki’s fingers pass right through the abandoned book.

“Woa! Man, that’s pretty trippy. But how do you dust the books every day?” He asks.

“You noticed I was doing that?” Kaneki asks back, impressed by his level of observance.

“You know, if we just keep bouncing back questions off of each other, we’re never going to get any answers.” Nagachika-kun points out, before walking over to Kaneki and extending a hand. “Nice to meet you! My name’s Nagachika Hideyoshi. You can call me Hide!” He says, beaming.

“I already know your name; I _have_  been living here since before you came.” Kaneki wearily reminds him. “It’s written all over your things.” The ghost further supplies, before finally taking the other boy’s hand.

Kaneki marvels at the feel of the genuine weight of Hide’s hand in his own, he can’t exactly feel it, of course- not the texture, not the warmth of it, but it’s the first real and solid thing that he’s held in his hand since forever started.

“Are you done yet?” Hide asks not unkindly, visibly amused by Kaneki’s amazement at being able to hold his hand.

Kaneki flushes and immediately lets go. “O-oh, sorry.”

A moment passes before Hide expectantly prompts him with “You know, you still haven’t told me your name.”

Kaneki clears his throat. “It’s Kaneki, Kaneki Ken.” He says.

“Kaneki Kaneki Ken? That’s kind of a weird name…” Hide remarks seriously.

“No! Just Kaneki Ken.” Kaneki awkwardly corrects him.

Hide laughs; a nice and comforting sound. “I know,” He assures the ghost. “I was just messing with you.”

And Kaneki just shakes his head, the corners of his lips turning upwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not the happiest with the way this chapter turned out. might go back and rewrite it. thank you for reading!!


End file.
